By Olawale Olalekan
The Senior Agricultural Economist, World Bank, Dr Adetunji Oredipe, has said that massive production would solve the problems of rising food prices across the country.
Oredipe, the Guest Lecture at 13th Faculty Lecture & Presentation of Awards of Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Oduduwa Hall, on Friday, in Ile-Ife. The theme “Mitigating Increasing Food Prices:The underlying Issues”.
He stated that hunger that has been with Nigerians for the past many decades cannot be attributed to religion, politics, or tribe, but because many people have stopped going to the farm.
According to him,some migrated to the city for white-collar job while many youths have become hooked to several nefarious and fraudulent but ill-fated adventures.
The Guest Lecturer noted that the prices of goods are determined by an interplay between the forces of demand and supply.
The Alumni stressed that hunger has caused Nigeria to become the 10th most hungry nation in the world,for World Bank recent data revealed that out of 200 million, over 104 million Nigerians are currently living below the poverty line.
“Nigeria witnessed a steady increase in both inflation and food prices from January to June and rose consistently monthly which reflected in the prices of garri, millet, yam, ferment cassava, palm oil and vegetable oil.
“Other causes are: national insecurity, lack of infrastructure, nuisance taxes, inefficient distribution channel, reduction in agricultural research and development by governmental and international institutions, subsidy removal, floating of Naira and food importation among others.
“There’s no amount of money that’s sustainable for the family nowadays, only for government to ensure that the food is available, cheaper and affordable”, he emphasised.
He called on government to embark on policy commitment of development and implementing a National Food Prices Management Plan (NFPMP) to prevent and mitigate the impacts of the crisis.
The Agricultural Economist assured that if government can address the challenges listed and youths are ready to participatory involved themselves in mechanised faming, there’ll be positive change.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof Simeon Bamire, appreciated all the invited guests, staff and students of the faculty.
Bamire, who was represented by Deputy VC(Admin), Prof. Yomi Daramola, congratulated the awardees that their quota towards the faculty and University cannot be over-emphasised.
He emphasised that the guest lecturer is a round pen in a round hole which assured will do the justice to the theme.
Also, the Dean of the Faculty, Prof Akeem Tijani, welcomed and appreciated all to the great occasions, applauded those that have assisted the faculty and OSU in one way or the other.
The Dean listed the problems facing the faculty like: leakages of waste pipes, offices spaces, faculty laboratories, lack of ICT among others, called for assistance for the benefit of staff and students.
Also, the Chairman of the Occasion, Oloye Adegboyega Adegoke, who doubles as Aare Egbe-Omo Balogun of Ibadan land, said that to eradicate the issues of increase in food prices requires joint efforts of government and Nigerians.
Adegoke called for implementation of the suggested points raised by the faculty and Federal Government,saying strategies without execution will end up in hallucination.
In the same vein, the Vice-Dean of the Faculty, Prof. OlaLekan Soyelu, who doubles as Chairman, Organizing Committee, said the theme was taken because it’s national concern presently that needs urgent attention.
Soyelu stated further that food price are skyrocketed whereby people cannot afford their three meal square of their choices, urged government to address the challenges of storage facilities, insecurity, power supply among others.
